The Xantia, Citroën's middle-class saloon, made its first appearance in 1993 at the Geneva Motor Show. With its trim, sleek body designed by Bertone, the base model is the 5 door hatchback, in French automotive tradition. The long wheelbase of 107.8 inches is also due to Citroën's traditional focus on ride comfort.
The suspension's format is a common strut type in the front and trailing arms at the rear. However instead of the usual springs and dampers, the Xantia was equipped with an innovative hydraulic mechanism called the Hydractive II, combining Citroën's hydro-pneumatic suspension system with an electronic controller, allowing optimum control of driving stability and ride comfort.
Thanks to this Hydractive II system, the Xantia had a truly unique ride quality. The body always stays flat regardless of bumps and imperfections in the road, and body roll while cornering was minimal. This vehicle undoubtedly had different comfort and speed characteristics from any other vehicle.
A deluxe version equipped with a more powerful V6 engine was released in 1998. With a maximum power output of 194 BHP @ 5600 rpm and a maximum torque of 27.2 kgfm @ 4000 rpm, this larger engine raised the Xantia's performance level to that of a high-performance saloon. With improved power and performance, the Xantia became a vehicle that had a comfortable margin when cruising at high speeds, which made it possible to enjoy the benefits of the hydraulic suspension even more.
With the later addition of an estate model, the successful Xantia became Citroën's main product for eight years.